The Hyrulean Jihad
by LittleBlueNayru
Summary: In the beginning, the Goddess blessed the world and gave her children the gift of magic, with one command: to never cast magic in the shape of the human soul. But the past fades, the heart forgets, and humanity might have just crossed the line. ((Fantasy AU revamp of Frank Herbert's Butlerian Jihad))


**DISCLAIMER:** I have never, do not, and will never own The Legend of Zelda series, nor the Dune series.

Well, my hiatus of one and half years was broken with a humorous story, but this one here is the main reason I returned for now. During November 2014, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), writing plot points, character profiles, background information, and sample chapters for a project I had planned for a while now: a fanfiction in a fantasy AU retelling the events of the Butlerian Jihad from Frank Herbert's science fiction series _Dune._

**[POTENTIAL _DUNE_ SPOILERS - SKIP TO NEXT BOLD IF NO WANT]**

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As fans of _Dune_ know, Frank Herbert alluded to the conflict known as the Butlerian Jihad in vague terms in his six books, leaving the impression of an intriguing religious revival that resulted in an absolute ban on computer technology. As fans of _Dune_ also know, when his son Brian Herbert used his late father's notes to expand on the conflict, his resulting trilogy was "basically Terminator", which disappointed many fans (but not me, personally; I would have liked it either way). I wondered what a "better" Butlerian Jihad would have been like. So, using fanfiction and the world of Hyrule, I will attempt to create a better, fantasy retelling, via _The Hyrulean Jihad._

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**[END SPOILERS]**

Note: By "better", I do _not_ mean "of superior writing quality"; I will never come anywhere close to the level of writing Frank Herbert could achieve. By "better" I mean "of better premise than his son gave the story"; a relatively simple task I think even I can take on.

I don't know how often my schedule will allow me to update, but I am determined to see this story through to its end. I hope you all enjoy reading it with me.

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**Prologue**

_"The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins... you will taste it all in the bite of my blade."_

\- Demon King Demise to Link at the final Battle of Hyrule

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Wind spurred by the massive unending storm of the Thunderhead whipped wildly around Skyloft, the floating continent. Ornate towers with rich decoration rose to meet the top of the stormclouds, where the gales blew so strongly that any flags raised there would rip to shreds in minutes. Link, now leader of the Order of Swordsmasters, stared up at the towers for a moment before turning his gaze downwards, to the cloud barrier. The barrier the Goddess had summoned to protect Her Children from the wrath of Demise, if only for a little while longer.

Down below, only one continent still stood against the wrath of the demon hordes. All the rest Hylia had judged too corrupted to save, and she had shed tears of bitterest sorrow as she sentenced the continents to drown. How the rain had poured… it seemed like an endless stormy night had engulfed the world, pulling all but one of the great continents below the waves forever.

Labrynna. Holodrum. Termina. Tolemac. Koridai. Gamelon. Only Calatia still remained above the Great Ocean… and even Calatia remained in the hands of the vile demons who wanted nothing more than to keep the land in darkness and despair forever. It was painful to think about.

The sound of soft footsteps grew louder as someone approached. With his keen training, Link knew who it was without having to look. Viaaru, temporary leader of the Gerudo sand warriors, stood next to him at the sheer cliffs of Skyloft's edge and gazed down into the swaths of clouds.

"It is a shame, is it not?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse and always on the edge of violence. "That we are reduced to living in this hiding hole. The demons and the traitors forced us to this point," she said. Hatred filled her voice as she recalled the events that had led to the Drowning of the Continents.

Some of her own Gerudo Warriors, faithful to Hylia and practiced in the ways of spiritual magic, as well as some sadistic splinter members of the Sheikah tribe, had fallen in with Demise's demons. Tempted by promises of power under demonic regime, they committed dark acts of magic and created terrible artifacts that wreaked havoc on the Goddess' chosen forces. Hylia had flown into a terrible rage upon learning that Her own Children had betrayed her; those Dark Interlopers would now pay the price of their sins for eternity in the Twilight Realm.

"We will rise again," Link responded. "Our moment nears. We will take back Cala- Hyrule, and purge it of demons forever." He meant every word.

"And we will learn from our mistakes," Viaaru also vowed. "Gel'ya offered us kindness, and we almost died. Beware the hand that bears gifts."

Link glanced sidelong at the temporary Gerudo leader. He found her gazing back at him with the same intensity she carried into battles; quiet enraged passion, fashioned into unstoppable force by her lifetime of hardships. He looked away, refusing to agree with her statement. Her intentions were clear, and Link disagreed with her in that and almost every other issue that did not involve the necessary eradication of Demise.

With the great battle before him, the Swordsmaster could not do much to combat her ambitions. After their victory – bloody but assured, he had no doubt – he would set about controlling her movements while remaining as far away from her seductions as possible.

Viaaru looked back. "The Children have gathered," she whispered, and Link knew that the warriors had prepared as much as they could for the final battle. "Come, she said louder, turning with a swish of fabric and an imperious sweep of the arm. "Our vengeance is at hand!"

The passion in her voice inflamed the souls of the gathered warriors, and they let out a short cheer. Link quickly whistled for his Loftwing companion before the zeitgeist carried them off Skyloft in an unprepared assault. "Warriors of Hylia!" he shouted as Koril flapped above Viaaru's head. "This is our hour! With the blessings of our Goddess we will taste sweet victory and revel in a demon-purged world of light!" He raised his holy sword above his head, and his Swordsmasters did the same.

"Everyone knows his purpose," Link said, deliberately inflecting his voice to recall the warriors to their senses. "We have discussed this plan a thousand times. How the Wind Tribe will mask our descent, how the Gorons will help us forge a moving fortress, how our great Gerudo and Sheikah and Swordsmaster warriors will fall upon the enemy with all the fury of the Persona of Din! While the Goddess' Acolytes forge their seals we will buy them their time to finish the great sealing spells set in place so long ago, and Demise will fall!"

Viaaru uttered her own battle cry, raising her wicked knife above her head. The shouts drowned out the thunder of the endless storm, the violence of nature lost as the maelstrom of humanity welled up from the gathering of soldiers.

Link decisively turned Koril in the air, and behind him, he heard thousands of soldiers ready their weapons, prepare their spells, whisper their final prayers to Her Grace for protection and guidance. The Swordsmaster briefly glanced at the wild clouds whipping above his head, occasionally parting and revealing the brilliant blue sky. In silence he offered his own prayer to the heavens.

_Great Hylia, Your Grace, Mother of us all, I know that you watch us from your resting place in the Sacred Realm. I know that even if we should fall and Demise claim your land for all of time you will love Your Children all the same. But I swear to you, I will retake your land and purge it of all evil. That is not a promise; that is a guarantee._

The tempo reached fever pitch, and Koril slowly made his way forward, and army of divine warriors marching behind. The pace increased. The march devolved into a furious, righteous run.

The army reached the edge of Skyloft just as the sun broke above the Thunderhead. Link drew his sword and vaulted off of Koril with a mighty yell as the bird of prey sounded a shrill war cry.

"_CHARGE!"_

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**Author's Notes  
**

While I feel foolish putting author's notes after the prologue, I feel obligated inform you, as non-spoiler-ish as possible, that this is the last we shall see of demons being a threat to humanity.

After all,** [spoiler alert(?)]** that was presumably Frank Herbert's original intent when alluding to the Butlerian Jihad in his own works.


End file.
